Within the telecommunications industry, "ribbon"-type, multi-contact connectors are widely used for connecting multi-wire cables to each other and to various pieces of electronic equipment. A typical ribbon connector comprises a prismatically-shaped insulative block (e.g., plastic) having an upper portion which is provided with two parallel rows of opposed recesses. Within each recess is a contact which extends from the upper portion of the block into a lower portion which is adapted to mate with a complementary ribbon connector. A barb is provided on the portion of the contact exposed through the recess in the upper portion of the connector block for piercing the insulation about a wire rammed into the recess. Once the barb pierces the insulation about the wire, an electrical connection is made between the wire and the contact.
Attachment of a separate one of a pair of wires to each of a pair of contacts seated in a separate one of a pair of opposed recesses may be carried out using a connector attachment tool of the type known in the art. Examples of a connector attachment tool may be found in U.S. patent applications: Ser. No. 290,551, now Pat. No. 4,878,295, filed in the names of M. Muhlberger et al., on Dec. 27, 1988; and Ser. No. 317,262, filed in the name of K. Billingham et al., on Feb. 27, 1989; both assigned to AT&T and incorporated by reference herein. Both the Billingham et al. and Muhlberger et al. tools are comprised of a connector-carrying carriage which is incrementally advanced past each of a pair of opposed rams so that each ram is successively aligned with a separate one of the recesses in a separate one of the rows. A pair of wire guides each serve to guide a wire into alignment with a separate one of the rams which, in turn, forces the wire into the aligned recess for connection to the contact seated in the recess.
In the past, the connector-carrying carriage of each of the Billingham et al. and Muhlberger et al. tools was provided with an interchangeable nest for seating the opposed ends of the connector. Each nest served to seat a ribbon connector whose ends are of a particular height. In practice, the height of the ribbon connector ends varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Thus, to accommodate the two most popular brands of ribbon connectors, two separate, interchangeable nests were required. The need to change nests on each of the Billingham et al. and Muhlberger et al. tools has proven inconvenient. Moreover, the need to provide separate, interchangeable nests have increased the complexity and overall cost of each tool.
Thus, there is a need for a universal nest for a connector assembly tool capable of accommodating ribbon connectors of two different heights and of different lengths as well.